About Us :: Frequently Asked Questions

What is LAN-slide?

LAN-slide is South East Melbourne's largest LAN party (Victoria, Australia). Around 200 players attend quarterly events armed with their computers to compete in a number of well-sponsored tournaments by some of gaming's leading hardware manufacturers and computer stores.

LAN-slide was founded in December 2011 with the first event held on April 2012 at Melbourne PC User Group. Since the first event, LAN-slide has grown from a humble attendance of 65 players to over 130 before a new venue had to be found. LAN-slide is currently hosted at Aspendale Gardens Community Centre, 103-105 Kearney Drive, Aspendale Gardens VIC 3195.

Seating is established for 240 players and includes pre-run Ethernet, two power sockets and enough room to comfortably place a single screen, keyboard and mouse.

What does the event cost to attend?

LAN-slide's entry fee is a flat $25.00 per player. The fee covers a space to set up your computer with access to one pre-run Cat6 Ethernet cable*, two sockets on a power board and table space approximately 90cm wide by 75cm long depending on where you sit.

Spectators may attend at no charge without registering and will be issued with a visitor pass.

For teams, each player must be marked as 'Going' on the website and attend the event.

* LAN-slide does not operate a wireless network for gamer general access due to numerous technical issues. As we operate wireless point to point links for our main internet, internal wireless for digital signage, increasing numbers of people using wireless headsets and access points that saturate all available frequency, it's impossible to provide a stable and enjoyable wireless network. If your laptop does not have an Ethernet port (many ultrabooks fall into this category), we recommend you purchase a USB Ethernet Adapter for around $30.00 at your local PC store.

If I have to bring my PC, why does it cost so much when dedicated competitions charge a much smaller fee? Where do the entry fees go?

As LAN-slide is a LAN party first and tournament facilitaor second, entry fees are required to cover the per-event costs (venue hire, power generators, internet) and equipment costs (servers, network switches, routers, hardware, tables, etc...). LAN-slide Event Coordinators make no money from the event (often injecting their own monies) and run the events out of passion and desire to bring gaming communities together.

Sponsors fully cover prizes for the tournaments and event. As the number of tournaments grow, so do the number of sponsors. LAN-slide is lucky to have the generosity and similar passions and desires from our sponsors to connect with various gaming community, we simply could not run the event without them.

In this regard and balance, you can think of our event as more of an exhibition in gaming featuring a number of tournaments rather than a dedicated venue putting on a tournament.

As LAN parties grow in size, costs exponentially grow too. LAN-slide's $25.00 per player fee is in line with what smaller LAN parties charge to cover their costs (i.e. attendance less than 50). In perspective, Australian LANs can cost as high as $50.00. Through extensive negotiations with partners and sponsors, we strive to keep our entry fee as a reflection of cost to keep the entry fee as low as possible.

When you scale up from 10-20 PCs being used over 200, there are a number of additional items we must source to provide a LAN party:

A dedicated power grid. For 200 players, we need over 300 A to run. That's more than a single input (100 A, three-phase) can provide to most available venues.

A dedicated network for 200 players takes careful planning and consideration. While networking engineers in corporations will have fixed installations, LAN parties require a different level of SLA and are completely dynamic in nature - network engineers cry when they see how quickly these networks are configured, established and pulled down some 24 hours later. In addition, purchasing equipment to provide a gigabit network with gigabit speeds is expensive!

A venue suitable to host 200 players that allows a rolling 24 hours is extremely difficult to find, and when you can - the costs are considerable.

A dedicated symmetrical internet connection is an absolute must. No 8Mbit speeds here, you're seeing 50Mbps+ down AND up. The NBN will go some way to making this less of an issue.

What is different about attending LAN-slide as opposed to a dedicated competition held at an internet cafe or gaming lounge?

LAN-slide is about bringing together gamers of all interests together in one room to celebrate gaming by competing in a few tournaments, playing in a few fun competitions, starting some large organised games, showcasing your PC, trying out new equipment and to gain tips from those around you.

Get knocked out of a competition? Not to worry! Go and skull some custard, play new indie game titles, crash into other players on FlatOut 2, pick up / sub for another team in one of the later team based competitions, find people to play your niche titles (we know you like Civilisation V and any number of Multiplayer Real-Life Simulators) or go and play some console games. There's always something to do.

LAN-slide runs similar to an exhibition. Over a rolling 24 hour period beginning 10:00 AM on a given Saturday through to 10:00 AM the following Sunday, you effectively build your own event by picking the things you want to do. Running over 24 hours also means you can block out the entire weekend to dedicate to playing games around people that won't nag you to 'Get off your PC!'

How does the registration and pre-event process work?

Approximately one month before the next scheduled event, registrations will open followed by an e-mail and Facebook campaign. We will announce what the capacity limit is, weekend the event will run over and ask you to choose either Maybe or Going if you have any plans to attend.

Approximatley three weeks out, we'll have the schedule published which will be a very good indication of what we estimate the start and end times to be (these will be subject to change based on event conditions) and announce any sponsors for the event.

Two weeks out we'll release the individual team-based competition posters as sponsors confirm the prize line-up. These will again be subject to last minute changes, but at minimum the value represented will be received.

In the final week leading up to the event, we'll send a couple of e-mails. These will remind you to confirm by marking yourself as Going or ask you to decline if you definitely can't make it (opening up additional spots for others who can) and remind people how to get to the event.

If we mark the event as Sold Out, we'll enforce the Sold Out policy at the bottom of this FAQ.

What do I do when I arrive? Can I arrive earlier than the start time? What is the wristband for?

On the event day, doors will open no later than 10:00 AM. Typically, we will begin signing people in from about 9:30 AM. All attendees will be issued with a tamper-proof wristband that must be worn for the entire duration of the event (we'll only admit people into the venue who wear the wristband).

How does the event run?

LAN-slide runs an e-Sports event targeting amateur and semi-professional teams as well as a casual event through fun tournaments / away from keyboard and an exhibition-style displays. Part of the event is the formal running of our main competitions. For more information on the formal running of our team-based / main competitions, please see the team questions section below.

Each event will have a schedule published before the event with around 20 games with a number of prizes awarded for each. There'll also be some bonus competitions from midnight not published (these will be to hand out lots of extra sponsored prizes that didn't quite make it into the final draft of the schedule!).

The party runs overnight, will there be supervision?

LAN-slide is run by at least eight (8) Event Coordinators for each event. The team comprises of people that actively lead Youth Groups, those who work with teenagers and young adults with Asperger's Syndrome and High Functioning Autism. Three (3) Event Coordinators supervise the event overnight (1:00 AM to 7:00 AM).

LAN-slide registers each event with the local police and all Event Coordinators have been instructed to call immediately without hesitation (physical fighting, unauthorised people attempting to enter the venue, alcohol / drug consumption, intoxication / drug impacted, etc...). Due to the nature of the event, verbal sparring and friendly banter is encouraged. Event Coordinators will attempt to diffuse any unwanted banter and sparring prior to calling police.

We would recommend and encourage that all teams and groups are accompanied by at least one trusted and responsible adult, especially for attendees under the age of 18. We would never recommend that sole attendance by under 18's without accompaniment. Your parents / guardians / older siblings are able to stay for the entire event - (this is something regularly done - those not bringing their PCs and connecting to the network will not be charged).

I am an "X game" player, why does "Y game" get better prizes when "Y game" isn't as popular as "X game"?

LAN-slide evaluates popularity for competitions based on past events, feedback received, requests for competitions and general trends. With this information, we work with our sponsors / partners to determine what prizes are allocated.

See the "How are competitions funded or allocated prizes?" question for a strategy we use to fund competitions.

How are competitions funded or allocated prizes?

Main Competitions:

LAN-slide investigates trending and popular games based on past event competitions and what the community demands are. Presently, the main competitions are League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Rocket League. We then work with sponsors / partners to provide a pool of prizes above and beyond expectations of an amateur / semi-professional competition.

We aim to have a prize pool value greater than $800 per competition and where there is a short-fall; LAN-slide will top this up with additional prizes from entry fees or smaller sponsors / partners. Team competitions will usually run to at least third place and have expectations to have between six and ten teams (or players in the case of 1 v 1) competing to continue scheduling them.

The total prize pool for main competitions will sit between at least $4,000 and $5,000 made up of game peripherals, game-related gift cards / steam wallets, swag and in-game currency. We will not normally add cash in as prizes as doing so does not keep with the amateur theme we aim for.

While we could opt for bigger and better prize pools, we feel that to remain attracting novice and amateur teams, these prize pool values keep professional teams using our event to feed their bottom lines. Instead, we would encourage professional teams to contact us before attending to discuss opportunities of how we can work with those teams to promote and interact with aspiring teams.

Free for All Competitions:

These competitions are usually a mix of LAN-slide provided and smaller tier sponsors / partners. As per the Main Competitions, prizes will be made up of game peripherals, game-related gift cards / steam wallets, swag and in-game currency. We aim to have a prize pool of between $50 and $150 as usually only one player will receive a prize. From time to time, we may have prizes to second place.

Due to the casual nature of Free for All competitions, these won't normally run to strict competition rules unless the game demands it. Instead, you'll find they are tailored for enjoyment over skill.

What freebies can I expect by attending?

From time to time, LAN-slide either approach or are approached by organisations with an exciting offer that we think will be great for attendees to sample. We regularly have energy drink manufacturers give out free samples, indie game developers giving out free keys for their games, Gaming stores give out DVDs, magazines and other swag, and PC stores that give out fantastic discounts that are exclusive and better than generic discounting that can be found on other websites that we would like to share with you.

We are fairly strict on what can be promoted during the event. In short, if LAN-slide event coordinators would take up the offer then we'll add it to the list.

I am looking to sponsor LAN-slide, how can I help?

We fully respect and appreciate the commitment our sponsors give to LAN-slide. If you have a product / service that isn't already catered for - or your product / service won't directly compete with existing sponsors, feel free to use the contact form to open discussions.

If your product / service offerings clash with a current sponsor / partner, we may reject sponsorship out of respect for both organisations. Doing so ensures current sponsors / partners have the best opportunity to promote their products / services. If we do reject a sponsorship request, we will most definitely keep you on a list to open up discussions should an opportunity arise for future events.

I am playing in a bracketed tournament, how do I register?

Since LAN-slide v14.0, we are allowing teams and individuals to register for bracketed tournaments on the event site before the event. Each coming event will have a 'Schedule' section on the website listing all games. As tournaments are ready to register for, registrations will open for those who have also registered for the event.

During the event, your team captain (or yourself in case of 1v1) will be required to check your team in at "Mission Control". Your captain can only check teams in once it is verified that all players are signed in to the event, and that you meet the minimum eligibility requirements (i.e. number of players) on your team.

Between 30 and 45 minutes from the start time of a tournament, the tournament referee will call team captains and / or players to the briefing area to go through important information on how the tournament will run. It is also the final opportunity to find extra players for your team / join a team yourself. During the briefing, a final call for team or individual checkins for the tournament.

Registrations will close shortly after the briefing, usually 15 minutes before the first rounds are scheduled to start.

Can I enter more than one competition?

Absolutely! However, you need to be mindful of clashes. As we run all our published tournaments over a 14 hour period, invariably there will be clashes.

My competitions have clashed, what do I do?

It's important to note that we will not hold up game rounds if you are playing in other competitions at the same time. If a clash is detected by Event Coordinators, you may be asked to choose the round and competition you want to play in (and therefore forfeit in the other competition unless a sub is available to fill in).

We have to keep to the schedule in order to not blow out the start times for later competitions.

There is also an opportunity where one or two players in a team for an early main competition are playing for another team in later main competitions could elect to have subs play the first round.

Due to the nature of the event we must plan and provide power, network and seating accordingly for those that have registered. The registration capacity represents slightly more seats than we actually have available on the day as we fully understand and expect a small number of people from the 'Going' list will not actually attend.

Registrations are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis and therefore to remain fair to all of those people that have registered early, we cannot move or rearrange your registration position on the list.

Having said that - approximately one week from the event, registrations still marked as Maybe will be moved to the bottom of the list, pushing up anyone marked as Going. In addition to reminding those on the 'Maybe' list that this movement will occur, we also send everyone registered for the event an option to decline / give up their registration. We also expect a small number of people will use this option if they can no longer attend

If in the likely event of an event sell out, the Sold Out Policy below outlines how people will be admitted to the event on the day.

If you are marked as Going and have a ticket, your seat will be held for the entire event.

If you are marked as Going, we will hold your seat until 12:00 PM on the Saturday, unless you use the Contact form or message us on Facebook indicating your player name(s) and what time you will attend by so we can reserve up until that point.

If you are marked as "Waiting List", "Maybe" or you have simply not registered, we cannot admit you until after 12:00 PM where we can only allocate seats that remain.

It will be at the event coordinator's discretion whether you can be admitted outside of these steps however please do not assume that we'll just admit you.

Register early to guarantee a seat. We send out periodic alerts, so please verify your e-mail is current and keep your status up to date to ensure that either you have a seat or in case you can no longer attend the event that you decline so the seat can be allocated to someone else who can attend.

LAN-slide is run as a community event by a dedicated group of unpaid Event Coordinators.
Entry fees are charged to cover costs of venue hire, electricity and other necessary equipment.